March 26, 2007

Sometimes people say something that just makes me stop, scratch my head, and try to figure out why in the world they said it or what in the world they meant. Richard Land recently made one such statement. Land, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, was talking about potential candidates for president when he said this about why some candidates may not be acceptable to Southern Baptists:

Three is one marriage too many for them.

Huh? Why is three marriages only one too many and not two too many? Maybe he is trying to keep the door open for McCain, who has been married twice while Giuliani and Gingrich have been married three times. Regardless, it does not seem to represent traditional Christian ethics (which is the area in which Land is supposed to lead Southern Baptists).

Perhaps a better and more Christlike perspective on this issue was expressed by Rhonda Kelley, a professor of women's ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She said:

I'm looking for a willingness to say, 'Hey look, I blew it. I am so sorry' ... Being willing to admit fault is a mark of maturity in a leader.

It is time for moral consistency mixed with Christlike love, not the partisanship or odd standards of Land.